COUNCIL COMPLAINS OF LACK OF INTEREST

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 187, 28 October 1927, Page 16

COUNCIL COMPLAINS OF LACK OF INTEREST

“PUBLIC MORE INTERESTED IN SPORT.” NEWSPAPER CRITICISM RESENTED l t Indignation 1 and surprise at t Press criticism were expressed by t city ccunciliors last evening when ( the council unanimously decided that the Press should be invited to all committee meetings, as well t as council meetings, when the new order of procedure comes into -j force next February. , It will be .remembered that a fort- £ night ago the council decided that, as from February, it would meet every three weeks, and that the Mayor and £ town clerk should decide what should c go to committees to be finally dealt with, and what subjects should be ( referred direct to the council. I “I must say much of the criticism ( was not very kindly,” said Cr. A. J. < Entrican. “The imputation was that the council wanted to do its work without the public knowing anything ] about it. I think we as a council i should resent that. We are just as i anxious to do the fight thing as the editors.” He complained that the Auckland papers did not give as much ' space as they would like to council doings. { “It took 80 pages of foolscap to record the doings of the last council meeting,” remarked Cr. Entrican, indi- \ eating the amount of business that j meeting had done in 3 h hours. Cr. J. A. C. Allum considered that more work had been done in open council in the last two or three years than ever in the past. “The papers seem to have misunderstood the position entirely,” remarked Cr. Ellen Melville. “I think they are frequently to blame for the amount of publicity the city’s affairs get. Our reports are left out for other news. Not even the attendance of councillors is recorded. I think that is a pity.” Cr. Entrican closed the discussion by remarking that the men who ran the papers were pretty cute, and knew what interested the public. Sporting got more than three times as much space on the day following the last | meeting of the council. It was obvious the people were more interested in sport than in the doings of the city. .